Promise
by trufflemores
Summary: 3.09 reaction fic. Blaine gave Kurt a promise ring, but what does Burt Hummel have to say about it? Klaine. COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee or any of its characters; Ryan Murphy and Co. hold that honor. I'm simply writing this for fun, not profit.

**Author's Notes**: _Blaine has just given Kurt a silver promise ring on Christmas day. They are at Kurt's house, in the living room, moments after. _[Continuation of _Gift._]

"Merry Christmas, boys."

Kurt bolted upright from Blaine's side, blushing slightly as he remembered that, in spite of the beauty of their own little moment, they weren't alone. Even though Carole, Finn, and Burt had presumably turned in for an early night, seeing his very awake father standing at the bottom of the staircase effectively killed that theory. Feeling Blaine shift to a slightly less cuddly position beside him, Kurt hoped that his dad hadn't seen the soft little kisses Blaine had been pressing to his neck moments ago. While not ashamed of his sexuality or his boyfriend, Kurt doubted that he would enjoy explaining all the little nuances of his relationship to his father. "Err, hi, Dad," he mumbled, unconsciously rubbing the side of the neck as though he could erase the evidence that way.

Burt scrutinized them, taking note of the slightly rumpled clothing (the price of wearing designer wear: every wrinkle and fold showed, further bolstering the imaginary incriminating evidence), the flushed cheeks (from _embarrassment, _Kurt thought fiercely), and of course, their close proximity. Their legs were still partially draped over top of one another. Kurt was already doing his best to subtly move away from Blaine without offending him. It seemed somehow mutinous to have accepted a promise ring from him only to shy away at the thought of his _dad _catching them in the middle of a celebratory cuddling session.

"Did I, uh, miss the party?" Burt asked at last, surveying the rest of the immaculate living room. He seemed to be looking for the disturbance that had made Kurt and Blaine shift away, somehow completely unaware that he was the cause of it. Kurt suppressed a sigh and let his hand brush apologetically against Blaine's calf as he scooted away from him so that they weren't quite so obviously entangled with each other. Kurt almost felt the disgruntled noise Blaine made at that, one hand questing outward as though he would grasp Kurt's before reluctantly retreating. Burt didn't even notice them, only looking back after a moment with the same expression as before. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Kurt assured, too quickly. He _knew _his dad was aware that they were hiding something. As though to confirm his suspicions, Burt lifted his eyebrows and walked over to one of the chairs opposite the couch, sitting on the edge and clasping his hands together, glancing between the two of them seriously.

"What happened?"

There was silence, Kurt suddenly embarrassed at the thought of having to explain it to his father. It made so much sense when it was just him and Blaine, the idea of promise rings and being each other's and wanting to be each other's forever. Explaining that great indefinable mass that he could only call _love _for Blaine to someone else was like trying to bridge two incompatible languages together with a comprehensible intermediary. Difficult, to say the least, particularly when the liaison was his _father._

"I gave Kurt his Christmas present," Blaine began softly.

Kurt was immediately grateful for his presence—it was comforting just knowing that he wasn't stumbling through the uncertainty alone—but Burt's startled expression made him wince inwardly. Even though Blaine and he had mutually agreed not to tell their parents the full details of their sexual life, it still seemed like an unspoken awareness between the three of them that it existed. Regardless of how open and trusting Kurt was with his dad, there were certain lines he was _not _ready to cross yet, and telling him about that was one of them. The insinuation that they had done something even remotely similar made Kurt bristle. Surely his dad knew that they would never do anything like that when the three of them were around?

"So, what was it?" Burt asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. It was bizarre, shifting from happy and warm and at peace with Blaine to on edge and uncertain and worried that maybe it hadn't been a good idea to accept a promise ring from Blaine. His right hand cradled his left protectively, instinctively trying to keep the ring from showing before he wanted it to. If he wanted it to. Maybe it wasn't too late to slip it off and tuck it away, to pretend that it wasn't there and that Blaine had actually promised him a wonderful date or something instead.

Kurt let his fingertips brush the ring several times before halting them decisively, leaving the ring where it was. He refused to do that to Blaine, to take away the gift that he had given him by refusing to acknowledge it. That would killBlaine, whether or not he wanted to admit it. Kurt knew that Blaine wore his heart on his sleeve and hated it when he disappointed or angered or upset Kurt in any way. The implication that Kurt had been upset by the ring would have been crippling. Kurt didn't want to think of ruining Blaine's Christmas like that.

So he took a deep breath and slid his hand back with such a deliberate motion that both his dad and Blaine looked at it. The ring was beautiful, a simple band of silver that seemed to convey everything that needed to be said between Blaine and him. It was a thread of hope, a promise that was captured and held, caught in the moment when they loved and would love each other. Kurt smiled as he looked at the ring, unable to help himself. A palpable tension vanished from Blaine beside him, a soft smile quirking his own lips upward. Kurt knew at once that he had made the right decision, relaxing against the couch even while heart skipped a beat when the room remained quiet.

"You got him a ring?" Burt asked, looking at Blaine seriously.

Instead of deflating or retreating under the gaze, Blaine's resolve seemed to harden. His shoulders straightened before he nodded once, decisively.

"It's a promise ring," he explained quietly, one hand snaking over to Kurt's to give it a squeeze.

A visible wave of relief coursed over Burt as he sank back into his chair. "Right," he murmured, sounding baffled but relieved, too. Kurt wanted to laugh at the idea that he had thought it was an engagement ring, except he couldn't because it was a ring that Blaine had given to him. "That's nice."

"If I may?" Blaine asked, directing the question at Burt but not releasing his gentle grip on Kurt's hand. Burt nodded once permissively and Blaine went on, his voice steady and certain. "I love Kurt. He's . . . the _best_ thing that has ever happened to me. I didn't want to get him an ordinary present this year because it's changed everything about my life, having him in it. I _want _him in it, as long as I possibly can, and this," he gestured at the ring, "is just a tangible reminder of that."

Burt looked between the two of them, one arm draped over the arm of the couch. His gaze shifted to Kurt after a moment, unreadable. "What do you think about this?"

"I . . . I love it," Kurt said, wishing he had more adequate words. "I love him," he added, squeezing Blaine's hand for emphasis, "and I'm sorry that we just sort of sprung this on you. But I'm not sorry for the ring. Or what it means." Blaine's hand squeezed his that time, the faintest reassurance and approval all tangled into one.

"Don't you think you're a little youngto be making such promises?"

If it had been anyone else, Kurt would have been infuriated that he thought that Kurt and Blaine were too young to decide for themselves whether their love was real or not. Kurt would never have given himself to Blaine, nor allowed Blaine to do the same, if he hadn't trusted and loved him completely. The sudden urge to tell his dad that—to ignore any uncomfortable repercussions and just _say it, _that he and Blaine had gone that step further and it had been the most amazing thing ever—was quickly suppressed when he felt Blaine's thumb brush over his knuckles soothingly, seeming to sense his inner outrage. It wasn't directed at his dad, not really, just at the thought that he couldn't make decisions like that for himself, that he couldn't possibly comprehend the full magnitude of what Blaine and he had done.

Because he had comprehended it. And it was _huge._

"We're not kids any more, Dad," he said softly. "I know we'll always be in your eyes," he added, almost apologetically, with a wry smile that seemed to lighten the atmosphere around them somewhat. "But we know what we're doing. Really. And I can _promise_ you that this is a good thing."

Burt looked at him for a long time, then back at Blaine, his expression clearly scrutinizing.

"It's a big step to go from just being together in high school to making future plans together," Burt elaborated, watching them both. "I know you two are pretty serious about this stuff. You don't fool around. You've made some mistakes." His gaze darted pointedly over to Blaine, who flushed delicately, probably recalling that the first time he had ever encountered Burt Hummel had been after Rachel's party when he had been hungover in Kurt's bed. "But I still trust you to do the right thing in the end. Just . . . make sure this is the right thing?"

"We will, Dad," Kurt said.

"Absolutely," Blaine echoed.

Burt nodded, picking himself up off the chair and walking over to them. Kurt tensed, half expecting that to be the moment when the previous tension exploded, but all Burt did was hold out a hand. Perplexed, Kurt reached forward and grasped it, allowing himself to be hauled up and into a brief hug. "I'm proud of you, kid," was all Burt said, soft and for his ears alone. After a moment, he released Kurt, looking down at Blaine instead.

"C'mere. You're family, too."

Blaine hesitated before climbing to his feet, appearing surprised when Burt hugged him, too. Kurt heard the words _good job_ mixed in with something else that he wasn't meant to hear. Blaine nodded and ducked his head as he pulled away, instinctively gravitating towards Kurt for support. He linked their hands together casually and the room seemed to lighten again. Kurt liked the unfamiliar feeling of the ring on his left hand, wondering how long it would take him to not even realize it was there, to wear it without even thinking about it.

Secretly, he hoped he wouldn't_._

"Morning," a voice grunted behind them, startling them out of their reverie as Finn appeared at the bottom of the stairs, yawning expansively. "Where are my presents?"

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Burt said, shaking his head as Finn ambled over to the tree. "I can't believe you two haven't demolished this pile yet," he added in Kurt and Blaine's direction. "Help me out?" He gestured at the stack of presents still untouched underneath the tree, Blaine and Kurt sidling over and sorting through them as Carole emerged from above, bright and beaming.

As soon as gifts were properly distributed and Blaine and Kurt had their respective piles beside them, they settled back on the couch in their previous position, reclining against each other and enjoyed each other's company. They watched the others unravel their presents, mindless of their own. Blaine's fingers were warm underneath Kurt's as they clasped hands loosely over his chest, thumb running over the ring gently. Blaine's smile was soft as he let his head rest against Kurt's shoulder, peaceful and content.

Kurt watched his dad for any sort of negative reaction and smiled when he realized that none was forthcoming, turning in Blaine's arms enough that he could ask in a light voice, "Don't you want your present?"

Blaine hummed once noncommittally, giving him a light squeeze, and Kurt laughed as he decided that, yes, if it meant that he could stay like that a little longer, he was definitely willing to postpone it.

_I love you, _he thought, lifting Blaine's hand while the others were thoroughly engrossed in one of the game systems Finn had gotten, trying to figure out how it worked. He pressed a light kiss to Blaine's left ring finger, smiling against it.

_Best Christmas ever._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>: Hello, everyone!

This was inspired by _girlinthevortex_, who gave me a lovely review mentioning the possibility of how Burt would react to Blaine giving Kurt a promise ring. Thank you again for letting me use the idea: I hope this lived up to your expectations.

Let me know what you thought?

**Review?**


End file.
